A Piedmont night with Ceretto family’s wines at Acqua Restaurant

It was once again a night of gastronomic delight. Last night, on Wednesday, 15 September 2010, we very much enjoyed wines and good food at Acqua Restaurant, which offers excellent Italian dining on Kalim Beach and just won an award from Wine Spectator for having one of the most outstanding wine lists in the world.

This was not the first time for their successful events. Alessandro Frau, the restaurant owner and Executive Chef himself, together with one of Thailand’s largest wine importers “Bangkok Beer & Beverage” (or BB&B for short) hosted an unforgettable “Piedmont night with Ceretto family’s wines”.

People were chatting a lot as they were all the restaurant’s and Phuket’s familiar faces. We were served warmly by Acqua’s attentive staff with a basket of assorted home made bread selection before the wine dinner got officially started about 8pm with a greeting by Bart Duykers, Area Director, BB&B Wines Phuket and an introduction to Ceretto by James Mullen also from BB&B.

Then our starter came. Thin sliced veal Tonnato style with tuna and capers sauce and their decomposed ingredients to pair with Blanghe Langhe Arneis DOC 2005. Ravioli Agnolotti al Plin stuffed with braised beef in Castelmagno cheese sauce and Ravioli Agnolotti al Plin stuffed with Castelmagno cheese in braised beef sauce arrived a few minutes after the second wine Monsordo Langhe Rosso (Cabernet, Merlot, Shiraz) was served at our table. The third, which was Risotto, followed after a big while – but to compensate that it was freshly cooked and really a super nice one, Rabbit and duck liver risotto with Piedmont cheeses fondue to enjoy with Asij Barbaresco-DOCG 2006. Here came the main course, Veal ossobuco slow cooked with mountain herbs, Barolo wine and cure lard, on black truffle polenta and its own sauce – with the third red of the night Zonchera Barolo DOCG 2004. The Piedmont night ended with the last but not least Traditional Piedmont Bonet pudding with Torroncino ice cream and marron glace sauce that matched well with sweet and low alcohol sparkling Moscato D’Asti.

Although, it was a little bit late at night, it seemed no one wanted to leave. Chef Alessandro Frau and his team got a big compliment and a long applause for his dedication and excellent wine dining experience we were given. Five Ceretto family’s wines and five courses at 1900 baht net was more than a quality evening out, considering this was an opportunity we have to pay for, not being lazy on our comfy sofa for our favourite TV show.

Should you seek for a similar experience at Acqua Restaurant, keep an eye open for the Phuket Dining news at phuketindex.com